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Healer

Suffering can appear in our lives with little warning. It startles us out of complacency. One day we are swimming with the tide, just breezing through life, then wham! Disease and discord hit us when we aren’t looking. Suddenly our nice dip in the ocean becomes a terrifying race from the sharks that we had no idea were right below the surface.

Hardship in whatever form it manifests, can cause us to lose faith that life is on our side. It can render us incapable of trusting the ebb and flow of reality as we understand it.

When I was diagnosed with a chronic disease, I was utterly blindsided. I am a healing practitioner, so in the beginning stages of being sick I had faith that I would be more than capable of handling the issue and moving on with my life. I had multiple tools to help me.

I did all the work, taking a mind/body/spirit approach to the disease, but instead of getting better, I got worse. I did everything that I knew how to do as a healing practitioner, but all my knowledge was useless in the face of my wretched suffering.

I stopped trusting the process and began to believe that I must have done something horribly wrong to deserve the physical and emotional trauma that I was experiencing.

To top it all off, I had a belief that no one would want to see a healer with a chronic disease. How could anyone put their faith in me to help them, if I couldn’t even heal myself? A sick healer is a paradox.

I spent a good deal of time stoically putting on my best game face while seeking help from other practitioners behind closed doors. Everyone that I knew had plenty of advice to give me, from why I got sick to what might help me get better.

Conventional medicine, naturopaths, homeopaths, nutritionists, spiritual counselors, acupuncturists, biofeedback therapists, energy healers of all different types; you name it, I tried it. I stopped trusting the healthcare industry to give me answers, but the worst part about it all is that I stopped trusting my ability to help myself.

Suffering makes us feel weak, and in that weakness we become vulnerable. It’s a terrifying experience to recognize that no matter what we’ve been taught to believe, there are some things we don’t have control over. Sometimes when we allow ourselves to step into our vulnerability, we can feel like victims, victims to our bodies, our thoughts, our creative process that’s gone awry, to God, to the Universe, to genetics.

I have vacillated back and forth between all of these things. I blamed my ancestors, the environment, but mostly I held myself accountable for this disease. I have a firmly held belief that I am a co-creator of my reality, so clearly I must have made this happen.

I played the self-blame game very well. I decided that I can’t be trusted to care for myself when I am in this open, susceptible state. The Universe can’t be trusted either because it certainly didn’t have my back and stop me from creating this horrible mistake.

It didn’t even give me fair warning.

When we are raw and wounded, the first thing we throw out of the window is usually trust. The most natural reaction to our loss of faith is to wrap ourselves in a protective shell because we are afraid of what might come next. The world no longer feels safe.

When we become ill, whether it’s emotionally, spiritually, or physically, we tend to try to keep the world at a comfortable distance. Instead of stepping into our vulnerability, we hide it under the guise of courage and dignity.

Society rewards stoicism with praise. If we see a cancer patient, we say “Isn’t she brave? She never complains about the pain she’s in. She just keeps fighting. It’s amazing!” Very rarely do we acknowledge it when someone courageously embraces their vulnerability by taking a step into the darkness of their condition and seeing what gifts lie within the murky depths.

When we voice our fears or expose our vulnerability, it can frighten our loved ones. It makes people uncomfortable when they can see our wounds. It makes them remember their mortality and their own ability to suffer.

We often respond to this behavior by hiding behind a courageous mask, when the truth is that it makes us feel guilt, anger, and shame.

It’s time for us as healers to take that mask off. It is impossible to heal if we don’t allow the shadows of our creation to surface for healing, or try to hide them. Ignoring them is no longer an option.

Barbara Buck is a Foundational Reconnective Healing Practitioner, writer, and teacher. For more information, please visit her website at http://www.barbarabuck.org

By doing what you do in your day-to-day lives, you’re already helping people. You might not even realize it; but the smile and kind words you said to the clerk at the store may have changed their life. Just being your authentic self brings and grounds positive energy into the earth at all times of the day and night.

However, stepping into bigger roles does start with small steps. If we’re not trusted to simply be kind to the people we stumble across in our daily existence, why should we be trusted dealing with severe states of emotional, physical, mental or spiritual distress in others?

It seems quite logical that we must also be in the process of healing ourselves before we begin to fully understand and step into the roles and paths of becoming a healer or teacher; understanding at the very least the core principles of the modalities we decide to follow and how they have positively or negatively affected our lives before we decide to give this guidance onto others.

Let’s look at an example of someone recommending fasting, ketogenic or raw food diets because they’ve done a little bit of research on the topic and have been practicing it for 3 weeks with good results. Things like drastic diet changes have the ability to majorly affect all of our body systems, along with influencing our emotional and mental states due to hormonal and biochemical changes, especially over long periods of time.

Are they going to attain sufficient nutrition by following your plan for an extended period of time?

Will they receive enough macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals to ensure their body will still function?

Are there any contraindications to someone partaking in this diet?

Do they have any diseases which may become worse through following this method?

Are they aware that they may experience headaches, dizziness, confusion, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle aches and hormonal changes as their body adapts to the new foods?

Have you seen positive changes to your own being from utilizing this method before?

What are some other physical or emotional particulars that they might note once they start on this diet?

How long should they remain on this diet for?

Are there any markers in health that they need to watch out for to know if they should stop this particular diet?

Choosing the right field is a process. For some, they will know straight away; for others, it may take time.

Sometimes we can become anxious to have a fresh start, to follow our purpose work or jump into our new life-path straight away — Which is great!

But before you dive headfirst into the first, second or third healing modality you come across and start teaching others about it, ask yourself;

Am I doing what I’m preaching? Is this sustainable?

What fruit am I bearing from the ways that I live?

Are they in line with the teachings of whatever doctrine I am following?

“The proof of the spiritual pudding is in the manifesting”

Do you want to teach people how to attain mental mastery?

Firstly, ask yourself if what you’re teaching has actually helped you so far in your life to gain strength over the ever-flowing currents of the mind.

Do you want to give exercise or healthy eating tips?

Ask yourself if you could stick to the plans you’re giving out. Do they work? Have you tried them before?

Do you want to be an intuitive healer/reiki practitioner?

Are you physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually strong enough to handle the energies of anyone that comes in for a healing? Do you know how to ensure you’re not taking on the energies yourself?

Make sure that your decision to follow a healing path or teach others isn’t based on emotional wants, nor pride, nor greed.

Is it what your soul is driving you to do?
Are you being guided into this, or have some messages been a little mixed up along the way?

Did you miss something?

It is important to have some critical thinking, because although you have found something you enjoy whilst on a fresh beginning, it is vital to be sure you have checked your internal guidance system before you decide to invest a lot of your time and energy into it.

Understand that you are already a healer; you are already bringing light and guidance into this world — before you make any rushed decisions, ensure you’re choosing the right path.

Maybe there’s something far better for you to be investing your time in!